The start of summer is a great time to visit new sites – whether they're on the Web or around the country. This month's eNewsletter can help guide these activities. Find out how copyright infringement may apply to Internet materials you "copy and paste." Learn what the cache is on your browser, and how to delete temporary Internet files. Plus, discover fresh ideas for summer fun, entertainment, and travel at websites we've picked just for you.

The goal of each of our monthly eNewsletters is to keep our subscribers informed regarding their Internet connection and to improve their Internet experience. To meet this goal, each monthly newsletter will usually contain information related to:

Warnings on a recent virus or e-mail hoax that may affect you

An update on new services and other local interests

An answer to a frequently asked Internet related question

Some fun, seasonal websites to check out

A short, step-by-step tutorial on an e-mail or browser related task

We think you'll find the information contained in this newsletter to be a valuable tool for enhancing your Internet experience. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins on a monthly basis, click HERE.

To see what's inside this issue, take a look at the index to the left and thanks for reading!

- The Homefront Reporter Team

Copyright Infringement - Stop And Check Before You Copy And Paste

The Internet makes it easier than ever to use or redistribute information created by others. But is it okay for your child to include statistics from a website in a school report, or an employee to copy text from a website for use in your company newsletter? The answers depend on a number of factors including what is used, how it's used, and whether you have permission.

Copyright infringement occurs when you reproduce or republish information without permission from the person or organization that owns the legal rights to it. Penalties may range from warnings and mandatory removal of all references to costly fines.

Publicly available information such as material posted on the Internet is not necessarily free from copyright protection. If you find something on a website that you'd like to use (such as a document or chart), search for a "terms of use" page that explains how you are allowed to use information from the site. You can often find a link to this page in the site's contact information or privacy policy. If you can't locate the terms of use, or if it seems unclear, contact the individual or organization that holds the copyright to ask permission.

Under the fair use doctrine of the U.S. copyright statute, it is permissible to use limited portions of a work including quotes, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, and scholarly reports.

The 3 Rivers Communications Internet customer service staff recently received two faxes regarding domain name registration. These documents looked official and might have made some people believe it was necessary to hurry and re-register their domain before it expired. In reality, these faxes were simply marketing tricks.

One fax came from the "Official Internet Registry & Optimization Bureau" with a "license" number and the headline "Your Prompt Attention is Requested." It listed a domain name almost identical to 3 Rivers' company domain and indicated that the name must be registered. "Almost" is the key word— one letter was capitalized that isn't in 3 Rivers actual domain name. The company offered to register the name for $27.50 per month! In fact, 3 Rivers' real domain name doesn't expire until 2010.

The second fax looked like a legal document. It said, "Urgent Notice of Domain Extension" and included the statement, "In Accordance with the United States Legal Code." This fax said the listed domain was available for registration. The domain name shown looked like a 3 Rivers customer's domain, but ended with ".us" instead of ".com" as the actual domain does. The fax also said, "You are required to advise the notification processor of your intent to license this domain name on or before the expiration of this notice." In reality, the customer's .com domain is registered through 2008-the .us version is irrelevant.

There are many legitimate domain registration companies one can find on the internet. 3 Rivers' Internet staff has had good luck with www.godaddy.com. They provide prompt customer service and are one of the least expensive registration companies out there. Consumers may check domain information by doing a "Whois" lookup of their domain from any registration web site. On www.godaddy.com or www.networksolutions.com, for example, click on the "Whois" link and type in the domain name. That will tell you the expiration date, what company it was registered through, and other pertinent information.

Consumers need to know with whom they have registered their domain, keep a copy for their records and know when it is due to renew. Most renewal notifications usually come by e-mail and not by fax.

Question: I've heard people refer to the "cache" in their Web browser. What is cache?

Answer: Cache (pronounced "cash") is the area of memory where a Web browser stores the contents of web pages you have visited. When you revisit a web page, your browser retrieves the files that comprise the page from the cache rather than downloading them again from the server that’s hosting the page. This speeds up Web surfing because the files in cache can be retrieved nearly instantly.

These files, called "temporary Internet files," remain in cache until the storage capacity of cache memory is exceeded. When this happens, the oldest files in cache are deleted first. You can use your Web browser to set your cache memory capacity and manually delete cached temporary Internet files. Deleting these files periodically is a good idea to prevent unneeded temporary Internet files from cluttering your hard drive.

Race to the Theater to See Carshttp://carsthemovie.com - Get your motors running! Opening this month is the fast-paced family film Cars from Disney and PIXAR, makers of The Incredibles and Finding Nemo. The comedy's plot is driven by Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson), a hotshot rookie racecar determined to win and get the perks that come with it. Other offbeat characters include a 2002 Porsche (voiced by Bonnie Hunt), a 1951 Hudson Hornet (voiced by Paul Newman), and a rusty tow truck (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy). Take a spin through this site to enter the "Showroom" and check out the cast of cars, or test-drive the interactive games. Rated PG.

The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth http://calgarystampede.com - Round up your kin and lasso a good time at the Calgary Stampede, July 7-16 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. This annual outdoor celebration is a wild mix of Western Canadian heritage with dynamic contemporary entertainment. Visitors from around the world come for the fun, featuring a million-dollar rodeo, chuckwagon races, and impressive grandstand shows with artists including Kenny Chesney. Want to kick up your heels and join in? Here’s where to view the event schedule, buy tickets, look at travel packages, and even get your cowboy nickname at the "Nickname Generator."

Red, White, and Blue with Red Skelton http://www.poofcat.com/july.html - We're in a patriotic season with Flag Day this month and Independence Day in July. It's a fitting time to take a few minutes and reflect on what the Pledge of Allegiance really says. This site contains an audio recording of the late comedian Red Skelton, sharing his memory of a childhood teacher's explanation of each word in the Pledge. Turn up your audio – you won't want to miss a moment of this heartfelt story.

Big Fun with Miniature Golf http://prominigolf.com/links.html - Wherever you travel this summer, you'll probably be a small distance from a miniature golf course complete with windmills, tiny houses, and trick holes. To find these little treasures, check out the links on this site to courses in the U.S. and Canada. Be sure to visit the history page for fun facts like this – after the stock market crash of '29, regulation minigolf courses became too expensive for most people to afford so ingenious holes were created by using scavenged materials such as old tires, wagon wheels, and rusty stove pipes. This became the model for the obstacle-laden miniature golf courses we think of today.

Have You Zillowed Yet? http://www.zillow.com - Get out your address book and get ready to zillow. This popular new site lets you enter a home's address and instantly see an aerial photographic map showing that neighborhood and giving estimated values for each home. Valuations for more than 65,000,000 U.S. homes are here, with data most accurate for larger metropolitan areas like L.A., Seattle, and Boston. Curious how your home compares with your old college roommate's? Here’s your chance to find out. Plus, get a bird's eye view of famous dwellings like the split-level house from The Brady Bunch. (If you're using a Mac, you'll need to use Firefox as your browser.)

There are several good reasons to delete cache files as part of routine computer maintenance. In addition to taking up hard disk space, cache files can become corrupted causing annoying browser behavior. They can also become outdated and thus not show the latest versions of web pages. And, because cache stores informational forms as well as regular web pages, it can even pose a privacy threat. Fortunately, it's easy to delete your browser's cache.

(We have used our best efforts in collecting and preparing the information published herein. However, we do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any and all liability for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions resulted from negligence, accident, or other causes.)